Going Gold all September long!
September is Childhood Cancer Awareness Month. For the entire month of September, we got to celebrate kids in multiple Houston area hospitals who had received a cancer diagnosis. Every day 1 in 43 children are diagnosed with cancer in the U.S. Globally, a child is diagnosed with cancer every 90 seconds. Because of these staggering statistics it is imperative that we raise awareness! While great strides have been made, there is still much to be done!
Texas Children’s Main Campus Infusion Clinic
In September we got to celebrate AND host an in-person patient event in the Infusion Clinic! Our theme was “You are a Treasure!” Our goal was for the patients to have a fun day getting to do “kid things” and take the focus off the fact that they were there receiving treatment. Each patient got a treasure map when they checked in for their appointment and got to embark on a treasure hunt while they waited or while they were receiving chemotherapy.
We had a slime station where the patients could make their own slime…choose their own color and add all the glitter and treasures they wanted! For the littles, we had a kinetic sand box where they could use rakes and shovels to dig for buried treasure and coins. The fun continued as kids followed their maps, in search of pirate’s booty, sweet treats, another craft station, gold necklaces and rings.
Texas Children’s West and Woodlands Campus
The celebrations for kids battling Childhood Cancer continued through the month with two other patient events and parades! We were able to join Texas Children’s West and Woodlands Campuses while they held their campus wide “Go Gold” events. Our booths theme was “Shine Bright!” To kick off each event, we put on ALL the Go Gold accessories, got our noise makers, and paraded through the halls of Texas Children’s cheering for the patients and raising awareness for childhood cancer. We got to celebrate with pediatric patients not only facing a cancer diagnosis but others who were in the hospital for various other reasons. We made sunshine crafts with patients that they could hang in their rooms or on their IV poles. We passed out “Shine Bright” gold star sunglasses to every kid…because our Haley Girl loved sunglasses!
Not only did we get to have a blast celebrating with each of these sweet children all month long, but we also got an opportunity to raise awareness for childhood cancer. Did you know only 4% of the federal cancer research budget goes to childhood cancer research? It is because of children like our Haley Girl, that we still fight for more research and funding.
Interested in spreading awareness or supporting pediatric patients year-round click here to learn more about how to support The Haley Rasco Foundation.
